ELIZABETHTON, TN (WJHL) – The 9-1-1 call reveals a frantic mother in a race against time to save her child’s life. During the Friday evening call placed to Carter County 911, the mother said the son, “was in the bath tub, he swallowed water and wasn’t breathing.”

The mother was instructed to pull over while in route to the hospital from Elizabethton . Emergency medical service crews met her and administered CPR to the child and took him to the Johnson City Medical Center.

Elizabethan police say the child died Tuesday. Police believe the boy’s 28-year-old Demetrius Covington is responsible for his death. Covington also
goes by the name Demetrius Somerville.

Investigators say he called his wife Friday and told her to come home from work because the child was hurt. On Monday, police charged him with aggravated child neglect.

On Tuesday, police upgraded that charge to first degree murder. Today, for the first time, police talked with me about the child’s injuries.

“The child suffered what is classified as non-accidental trauma and the injuries were considered non-self inflicted injuries as well. there was a series of serious and severe injuries that this child was suffering from,” Captain Joy Shoun with Elizabethton Police said.

Police are still investigating the circumstances surrounding this child’s death. Anyone with information that could be helpful to authorities should call 1-800-TBI- FIND. There is a $3,500 reward offered for information leading to his arrest.